Spanish La Liga Roundup, Mar. 13

A second-half equalizer from Jesus Nava earned Sevilla a 1-1 draw against Spanish leader Barcelona, whose advantage over Real Madrid was cut to five points on Sunday.

Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic scored from Daniel Alves' pass on the half hour mark at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, but Alvaro Negredo crossed for Navas to head home a deserved equalizer in the 49th minute.

Barcelona survived an injury scare for Lionel Messi and the Argentina forward was dangerous throughout the match, hitting the crossbar with a header. Teammate Andres Iniesta also found the woodwork late on before Gary Mendel cleared the Spain midfielder's goalbound shot off the line in injury time.

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Barcelona still managed to match a club record with its 26th straight league game without defeat - last achieved during the 1973-74 season.

But the two-time defending champion allowed its closest opponent to gain ground after Madrid warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League match against Lyon with a 2-0 win over Hercules on Saturday.

Messi looked to have put Barcelona ahead after just eight minutes as he exquisitely curled a free kick over Sevilla's defensive wall and past the fingertips of the outstretched goalkeeper Javi Varas. But the strike was ruled out because teammate Sergio Busquets had tussled with Martin Caceres as the free kick was taken.

While Barcelona felt hard done by, so did Sevilla in the 24th minute when Alves impeded Didier Zakora from reaching a cross inside the Barcelona area.

Bojan's first goal since Dec. 12 came from a dubious on-side position as Iniesta found Alves, who set up the young striker 's score.

Messi was denied by the crossbar in the 42nd as he met Xavi Hernandez's lofted pass with a header.

Barcelona held its breath at halftime as Messi pounded the ground in pain with his fist after knocking knees with Varas, but the 23-year-old forward eventually was able to hobble off the pitch and return for the second half.

Sevilla showed more verve after the restart and Negredo's impressive control drew goalkeeper Victor Valdes out before Navas met his cross into the middle, heading home with the defense scattered.

Even without strike partner Luis Fabiano - just transferred to Brazilian club Sao Paulo - Negredo was a constant threat, although with time and space he still shot high in the 53rd minute.

Barcelona seemed to revive in the 68th as Messi darted past defenders on a trademark run into the area before Mendel managed to cut off the Argentine for Varas to cover.

Navas pushed Bojan over inside the area in the 73rd but no penalty was awarded, and Valdes got a foot to the Spain winger's low shot at the other end to deny a goal.

Sevilla was creating the best chances now with Frederic Kanoute poorly connecting with Diego Perotti's pass in the 78th before Valdes stopped the Mali striker's high shot two minutes later.

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Messi just missed Bojan's cross into the area in the 83rd as both teams sought a winner, with Iniesta's curling shot coming off the crossbar with four minutes left.

Earlier, Diego Castro scored an injury-time penalty for nine-man Sporting Gijon to salvage a 1-1 draw at Villarreal, which had gopne ahead in the 29th when Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi scored his 25th goal of the season and 15th league goal.

Sporting, which moved three points above the drop places, was down to 10 men in the 66th when Jose Angel was sent off, while Castro's spot kick came moments after teammate Rafael Sastre was red carded for impeding Rossi.

But Villarreal defender Gonzalo Rodriguez kicked out at a long ball into the area and appeared to catch David Barral to set up the last-gasp equalizer.

Villarreal, coming off a 3-2 Europa League win at Bayer Leverkusen, moved to within three points of third-place Valencia, which lost 4-0 at Zaragoza on Saturday.

Ivan Alonso and Joan Verdu scored second-half goals as Espanyol beat 10-man Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 to move back into fifth place after picking up only its second victory in eight games. Deportivo lost Pablo Alvarez just before the break at the Cornella-El Prat Stadium after he fouled Javier Marquez and collected a second booking.

While Mallorca rallied to draw 1-1 at Levante, last-place Malaga secured a much-needed victory by 2-0 at Real Sociedad.

Osasuna continued its improvement under new coach Jose Luis Mendilibar as the Pamplona club beat Racing Santander 3-1 for a third victory in five games.

A minute's silence was observed before the start of all matches as a mark of respect for the victims of Friday's deadly earthquake in Japan.

Valencia lost 4-0 at Zaragoza on Saturday, when Madrid warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League match against Lyon with a 2-0 win over Hercules.

Almeria, Hercules and Malaga all share 26 points in the relegation places.

Athletic Bilbao can overtake Espanyol and retake fifth by one point with a victory over Getafe on Monday.